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ARMONK, N.Y. -- The owner of Brynwood Golf & Country Club is offering to put up millions of dollars for local projects as part of its proposal to build 73 housing units on part of its property.

Mark Weingarten, an attorney for Brynwood Partners, LLC, announced the measures at a May 27 North Castle Town Board meeting, which was heavily attended. The meeting included a pair of public hearings pertaining to rezoning and a comprehensive plan change needed for the project.

Aside from reducing the unit count from 80 and 73, Weingarten noted that his client is proposing to tax the housing using fee-simple status, which means they will be treated as if they are single-family homes. Previously, most of the homes were proposed to be taxed as condominiums, which caused some concern locally because they would be subject to an assessment system that could produce less revenue than if they were counted as single-family structures.

Weingarten also noted that his client will make a contribution of $1,050,000 towards several local projects. The funding will include about $860,000 for general capital work in town, up to around $100,000 for work on windmills in the Windmill Farm neighborhood and $75,000 to repair a stone wall for the same community. Also included is $15,000 for Friends of Miller House/Washington's Headquarters, a group that supports the historic Elijah Miller house in North White Plains.

The fate of the dilapidated house, which is owned by Westchester County, has been in limbo between the town and the county.

Additionally, Weingarten mentioned a contribution of more than $1 million that his client is willing to make for drilling a new water well, which would be done as part of a proposal for the owner to join Windmill's water district. It was noted at the meeting that Brynwood Partners joining the district, which is dealing with roughly $10,000,000 in bonded debt for renovation work, would mean savings for fellow residents.

Town Supervisor Michael Schiliro suggested the possibility of doing a survey of water-district residents to see if they support an addition. Brynwood Partners, which already has an on-site water supply, does not need to join the water district in order to get its homes built.

Brynwood Partners is also suspending its tax-assessment litigation, in which it is seeking property tax refunding retroactively. Weingarten indicated that his client would drop the litigation if the housing project goes forward.

The Town Board is slated to take up the public hearings again at a special meeting on Wednesday, June 3. Previous coverage of the proposal is available
here.